scheuermann etal



Feb. 28, 1956 o. e. SCHEUE RMANN ET AL MOLDING OF SLIDE FASTENER SLIDERS Original Filed Feb. 19

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS OTTO Schzuzr-mann Y PAUL NATzLER ATTORNEYS Feb. 28, 1956 o. G. SCHEUERMANN ETAL 2,736,062

MOLDING OF suns FASTENER SLIDERS Original Filed Feb. '7, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS OTTo Schzuer'mann y PAUL NATzLER ATTORNEYS United States PatentG MOLDING OF SLIDE FASTENER SLIDERS Otto G. Scheuermann, Westfield, N. J., and Paul Natzler, Jackson Heights, N. Y., assignors to Conmar Products Corporation, Newark, N. .l., a corporation of New Jersey Original application February 7, 1946, Serial No. 646,102. Divided and this application November 13, 1952, Serial No. 320,283

9 Claims. (Cl. 18-42) This invention relates to slide fasteners, especially sliders, and more particularlyto the molding or die casting of such sliders.

A slider of the usual type consists of a slider body and a pull tab or pull mounted thereon. The slider body has two parallel walls spacedly and centrally joined at one end by a wedge-shaped strut, frequently referred to as a diamond or neck. One of the two slider walls has a lug pivotally supporting the pull. Both slider walls are provided with inturned side flanges and define, together with these flanges and the neck, a Y-shaped channel. (It should be noted that all references made to one pull also apply to two pulls mounted on opposite sides of a slider body, and the mention of one pull should not be understood in a limiting sense.)

In molding or die casting sliders of the aforesaid type, slider bodies and pulls have heretofore been made separately. Intricate operations are required to assemble the separate slider bodies and pulls. One object of the present invention is to do away with all assembling operations. Another object is to provide a mold adapted to mold assembled slider and pull structures.

In prior constructions either the slider body mold or the pull mold is so designed that the parts, when removed from the mold, do not have their final shape but must undergo a reshaping operation. For instance, a slider body may be molded with a lug which is integrally formed therewith at only one end, while the other end is in spaced relation to the outer surface of the slider body. Such a slider body is given its final shape, after a pull of the closed end type hasbeen passed over the free lug end, by bending the lug end downwardlyupon the slider body. A more specific object of the invention is to provide a mold furnishing moldings or castings in their finally needed shape, and with the extra strength which comes from a closed integral structure.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate cementing' for assembling purposes. Ancillary objects of the invention, center around the provision of a mold which renders the manufacture of sliders more economical, and which, due to the elimination of a cementing operation, produces one-piece parts which are stronger than cemented ones.

Another object of the invention is to provide a slider and pull which are so shaped as to make possible and to facilitate their simultaneous molding, with the pivot pin of the pull passing through the lug of the slider.

The present application is a division of our parent application Serial No. 646,102 filed February 7, 1946 now abandoned, and entitled Molding ofi Slide Fastener Sliders.

To accomplish the foregoing objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, our invention resides in the mold, slider, and pull elements and their relation one to the other as are more particularly described in the following specification, and sought to be defined in the appended claims. The specification is accompanied by drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a slider molded in accordance with the invention, with the pull in upright position;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the slider of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1, this view also showing portions of the mold;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken in the plane of the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section, with parts broken away, of a mold made according to the present invention, with four cores, shown in-closed position;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the mold parts and cores in open position; with a slider blank therebetween;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary isometric view showing a portion of a mold part and one of the four cores; and

Fig. 8 is explanatory of the shape of the mold within the slider.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings, particularly Figs. 1 to 4, there is a slider body generally designated B, and a pull tab generally designted T. The slider body B is formed by two parallel walls or wings 10 and 12, spacedly and centrally united by a wedgeshaped strut or neck 14. The wings 10 and 12 are provided with inturned side flanges 16 and 18, respectively, and define a Y-shaped channel C, best seen in Fig. 1, which accommodates two slide fastener stringers (not shown). The wing 10 has a lug with a hole 20 for support of the pull T. The lug is formed by two outwardly directed posts 22 and 24 (see Fig. 2) and a rail 26 connecting the posts. The pull is of the closed end type, and comprises a pivot pin 28, spaced arms 30 and 31, and a handle portion 32 (see Fig. 3).

Patented Feb. 28, 1956 The posts 22, 24 and the rail 26 together with the slider body form a closed, integrally molded structure, and the pull together with the spaced arms 30, 31, and? the pivot pin 28 form another closed, integrally molded structure, yet the pivot pin 28 passes beneath the rail 26. This is made possible by molding the pull simultaneously with the slider in the relation shown.

To help make this possible the post 22 has convergent walls 60 and 62 (see Fig. 4) forming a ridge 64, and the post 24 has convergent walls 66 and 68 forming a ridge 70, said ridges facing each other. Similarly, the pull arm 30 has convergent walls 72 and 74 forming a ridge 76, and the other pull arm 31 (Fig. 1) has convergent walls 78 and 80 forming a ridge 82, with the ridges 76 and 82 facing each other. In accordance with the present invention, the wall 60 is either parallel to or slightly convergent toward the wall 72 in the direction of the ridges. Similarly, the walls 66 and 74 are parallel or slightly convergent; the walls.62 and 78 are parallel or silghtly convergent; and the walls 68 and 80 are parallel or slightly convergent. More specifically, the walls 60 and 62 are at an angle of or slightly less, and the same applies to the walls 66 and and 68; the walls 72 and 74; and the walls 78 and 80. This configuration of the posts 22 and 24 and the arms 30 and 31 makes it possible to form the same by means of slidable cores which are retractable in the direction of the walls.

Thus, referring to Figs. 5 through 8, the slider and pull areformed in a mold made up of a cover die 34 and an ejector die 36 separable on a parting face P and having retractable cores 38, 38, 40, and 40', which help fornr the lug and pivot pin in joined relation. The cores here shown are moved in a plane parallel to the slider wings, and have die cavities which help form the posts, rail, arms, and'pivot pin.

To some extent, the mold here shown is like that disclosed 'in a' co-pending application of FrederickUlrich, 2

Ser. No. 512,898, filed December 4, 1943, and since issued on February 4, 1947, as Patent No. 2,415,395. According to the Ulrich application referred to, all of the cores which helpfo'rm the: slider body are formedintegrally. with the mold parts. This is schematically indicated in Fig. 8, in which the core 84=moves with the mold'36, and the core 86 moves with the mold34, cores 84 and 86' together forming the Y-s'naped channelwithin the slider.

The molding separates on a parting face P transverse to the-slider. With sucha mold most of the pull may be formedby shallow cavities in the parting face of the mold. (See cavities 88 in Figs. 6 and 7). With the body of the slider and the handle portion of the pull thus formed in'a simple two-part separable mold, the remaining and more difficult problem is the formation of the inter-engaging'pivot pin'and lug, and it is at this point that the four retractable cores are employed.

Referring to Fig. 6, it will be seen that the core 38 has perpendicular endwalls 90 and 92. The other three cores 38,.40, and have similar perpendicular ends. Wherrthe cores are closed, the end walls form parting faces which are perpendicular to one another (as well as to the rail and pivot pin).

Referringnow to Fig. 7, the end 98 of core 38 has a vertical cavity 94 to help form the pull arm 3%). It further has ahorizontal cavity 96 to help form the pivot pin of the pull. The-wall 92-has a horizontal cavity 98 to help form-the rail 26 of the slider lug, and has a generally upright cavity 160 to help form the post 24 of the lug. The cornerportion 102 of the core provides clearance between the pivot pin of the pull and the rail of the slider, while the corner portion 104 of the core providesclearance between the pivot pin of the pull and the wing ofthe'slider.

It will be seen that there are two pairs of longitudinally retractable cores, and in the particular case here shown, one pair of cores is disposed perpendicular to the other pair. The ends of the cores have perpendicular walls which form parting faces perpendicular to one another, as is best shownin Fig. 5, in which the cores are in closed position. In view of the description of the mold given in the Ulrich application, and in view of Fig. 8, it is deemed unnecessary to describe in any greater detail those cores in the present mold which are formed integrally with the mold parts. They function as in the Ulrich application, and form the slider wings and the Y-shaped channel therebetween.

It will be seen that a portion of the mold part 34 and the cores 38, 38 cooperate with mold part 36 and cores 40, 40' to define the lug and pull both interiorly and exteriorly. in the present case, the mold part 34 is a cover die and is stationary, while the rest of the elements are movable. The mold part 36 is an ejector die, and is movable toward and away from the cover die 34. The cores 4t}, 40' are movable relatively to both the stationary and movable mold parts, while the cores 33, 38 are movable relatively to the stationary mold part.

The cores are provided on their meeting surfaces with cavities which complete each other to form two nonintersecting mold cavities. They are retractable because of the special shape of the posts and arms, described in connection with Fig. 4. Thus the surfaces. 66 and '74 in Fig. 6 correspond to the walls 66 and 74 in Fig. 4, and being either parallel or convergent, permit retraction of the core.

The parting plane P is located at the widest part of the slider, as will be seen in Fig. 6. In the molding or closed position of the mold, the moldable material is supplied through a spine (not shown) provided in the cover die 34 and injected into the separate slider body cavity and pull cavity of the mold of the invention through two separate gates 42 and 44, respectively; The moldable material is forced notonly into these two cavities but also into plug cavities 46' and 48 arranged adjacent the slider body cavity and pull cavity, respectively.

Upon molding or casting the slider body and pull assembly, the mold is opened by first withdrawing the cores 38, 38, a clearly shown in Fig. 6, while the ejector die 36 remains in its closed position, and then retracting the ejector die 36 with a solidified blank. As the die is opened, or immediately thereafter, the cores 48, 40 are retracted, as is shown-in Fig. 6. The ejector die part 36 is provided with four ejector pins 5t), 52, 54, 56 actuated by a suitable knock-out mechanism to eject the slider and pull with the plugs 46' and 48 and solidified gates 42 and 44, from the solid line postion to the dotted line position.

It is believed that the construction and'operat-ion, as well as the advantages of our invention, willbe apparent from the foregoing description thereof. The invention avoids the molding or' casting of separate slider bodies and pulls, and does away with the operations needed to assemble these parts when made separately. The product as obtained from the mold is ready to be used, except for trimming. The parts do not have to be reshaped or cemented. Only a single mold is needed for boththe slider'body and the-pull; The connection between the slider and the pull .is stronger than is the case when the parts are made separately and assembled. The posts of the slider lug and the arms of the slider pull are especially shaped to facilitate the combined molding operation.

It will beunderstoodthat while we have shown and described the slider and mold in a preferred form, changes may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, as sought to be defined inthe follow-ing claims:

We claim:

1. A mold for molding a slider having a lug made up of two posts joined byv a rail, and a pull made up of a handle having two arms joined by through the'lug, said mold being separable on a parting face and having appropriate cavities to form the slider and pull, and said mold including retractable cores movable in a plane approximately perpendicular to the parting face, the ends of 'said cores having die cavities which form the posts, rail, arms and pivot pin.

2. A mold for molding a slider having a lug made up of two posts joined by a rail, and a pull made up of'a handle having-two arms joined by a pivot pin passing through the'lug, said mold being separable on a parting face transverse t'osthe slider and having appropriate cavities to'forrnthe slider,,and' appropriate cavities to' form-the pull; and-said mold including cores coming together intermediate the aforesaid slider and pull cavities, the said cores having cavities which form the posts, rail, arms, and pivot pin.

3. A mold for molding a slider having a lug made up of two posts joined by a rail, and a pull made up of a handlehaving two arms joined by a pivot pin passing through=the lug, said mold being separable on a parting face and having appropriate cavities to form the slider and pull, and-said mold including four longitudinally retractable cores movable in a plane substantially parallel'to the rail and pivot pin, the ends of said' cores having die cavities which form the posts, rail, arms, and pivot pin.

4. A mold formolding a slider having a lug made'up of two posts'joined by a rail, and a pull made up of a handle having' two' arms joined by a pivot pin passing through the lug, said mold being separable on a parting face and having appropriate cavities to form the slider in a plane perpendicular to the parting face, and the pull in a'pla'ne'parallel to the parting face, and said mold including two pairs of longitudinally retractable cores:movable" in a plane perpendicular to the parting face, onewpairof coresbeing disposed transversely perpendicular to thefother'pair, the end of each core having perpendicularly related walls forming parting faces,

said'ends'foflthe-cores havingdie cavities whichfonn the posts, rail, arms, and pivot pin.

a pivot pin passingv 5. A mold for molding a slider having 2. lug and a pull pivotally joined by a pivot pin, said mold being separable on a parting face extending transversely of the slider, and the separable halves of the mold having stationary cores which form a Y-shaped channel within the slider, and also having cavities at a higher level which form the handle portion of the pull with the pull lying in the plane of the parting face, said mold further including retractable cores having cavities which form the lug and pivot pin in pivotally joined relation.

6. A mold for molding a slider having a lug made up of two posts joined by a rail, and a pull made up of a handle having two arms joined by a pivot pin passing through the lug, said mold being separable on a parting face extending transversely of the slider, and the separable halves of the mold having stationary cores which form a Y-shaped channel within the slider, and also having cavities at a higher level which form the handle portion of the pull with the pull lying in the plane of the parting face, said mold including retractable cores movable in a plane approximately perpendicular to the parting face, the ends of said cores having die cavities which form the posts, rail, arms, and pivot pm.

7. A mold for molding a slider having 2. lug made up of two posts joined by a rail, and a pull made up of a handle having two arms joined by a pivot pin passing through the lug, said mold being separable on a parting face extending transversely of the slider, and the separable halves of the mold having stationary cores which form a Y-shaped channel within the slider, and also having cavities at a higher level which form the handle portion of the pull with the pull lying in the plane of the parting face, said mold including cores coming together intermediate the aforesaid slider and pull cavities, the cores having die cavities which form the posts, rail, arms, and pivot pin.

8. A mold for molding a slider having a lug made up of two posts joined by a rail, and a pull made up of a handle having two arms joined by a pivot pin passing through the lug, said mold being separable on a parting face extending transversely of the slider, and the separable halves of the mold having stationary cores which form a Y-shaped channel within the slider, and also having cavities at a higher level which form the handle portion of the pull with the pull lying in the plane of the parting face, said mold including four longitudinally retractable cores movable in a plane approximately perpendicular to the parting face, the end of each core having perpendicularly related walls forming parting faces having die cavities which form the posts, rail, arms, and pivot pin.

9. A mold for molding a slider having a lug made up of two posts joined by a rail, and a pull made up of a handle having two arms joined by a pivot pin passing through the lug, said mold being separable on a parting face extending transversely of the slider, and the separable halves of the mold having stationary cores which form a Y-shaped channel within the slider, and also having cavities at a higher level which form the handle portion of the pull with the pull lying in the plane of the parting face, said mold including two pairs of longitudinallyretractable cores movable in a plane approximately perpendicular to the parting face, one pair of cores being disposed transversely perpendicular to the other pair, the end of each core having perpendicularly related walls forming parting faces having die cavities which form the posts, rail, arms, and pivot pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 510,748 White Dec. 12, 1893 2,415,395 Ulrich Feb. 4,. 1947 2,509,278 Scheuermann et al May 30, 1950 

